New Law Kicks Off Pilot Program for Patients with Immune Disorders

The law also included a $45 million pilot program for 4,000 Medicare recipients with immune system disorders, a proposal authored by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) intended to help patients receive in-home treatments. In a phone interview, Brady called his proposal a logical partner for the secondary-payer bill because they both “have merit” and the latter would help offset the cost of his demonstration. The demonstration would cover the full cost of in-home treatment with IVIG, a biologic intended to boost the immune system of patients with primary immunodeficiency disease. Today, Medicare only covers IVIG administration in doctors’ offices and hospitals, leaving in-home patients to foot the bill. Brady estimates that about 250,000 patients live with compromised immune systems, and about 10,000 of them are Medicare beneficiaries. His interest stemmed from the case of David Vetter, a 12-year-old in his district known as the “boy in the bubble,” who died while living in a sterile environment at Texas Children’s Hospital. The text of the law: http://1.usa.gov/10iLbvm

Article Source: POLITICO Pulse, by Kyle Cheney, with help from Brett Norman and Paige Winfield Cunningham